SteelHead™ Deployment Guide - Protocols : HTTP Optimization : HTTP Optimization for SharePoint
  
HTTP Optimization for SharePoint
You can configure Microsoft SharePoint-specific HTTP optimization options in RiOS v8.5 and later. The SharePoint optimization options are available on the Optimization > Protocols: HTTP page (Figure 4‑14):
  • Microsoft Front Page Server Extensions (FPSE) protocol - enables the client application to display the contents of a Web site as a file system. FPSE supports uploading and downloading files, directory creation and listing, basic file locking, and file movement in the Web server. The FPSE HTTP subprotocol is used by SharePoint 2007 and 2010 when opening documents in Microsoft Office. To increase performance, the following FPSE requests are cached:
  • URL-to-Web URL request
  • Server-version request
  • Open-service request
  • One of the inherent issues with SharePoint communication is that after each request is complete, the Web server closes the connection. Thus, each new request requires a new TCP handshake. If you are using SSL, additional round trips are required. Request caching eliminates the round trips and speeds up the connection.
    FPSE supports SharePoint Office clients 2007 and 2010, installed on Windows 7 (SP1) and Windows 8. SharePoint 2013 does not support FPSE.
  • Microsoft Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) - represents a set of standardized extensions (RFC 4918) to the HTTP/1.1 protocol that enables users to collaborate, edit, and manage files on remote Web servers. Specific to SharePoint, WebDAV is a protocol for manipulating the contents of the document management system. You can use WebDAV protocol to map a SharePoint site to a drive on a Windows client machine. To properly set up as a WebDAV drive, you must create it as a mapped drive and not as a new network folder location.
  • The WebDAV optimization option in the RiOS cache often repeats metadata and replies locally from the client-side SteelHead. WebDAV protocol is used in both SharePoint 2010 and 2013.
  • File Synchronization via SOAP over HTTP (FSSHTTP) Protocol - FSSHTTP is a protocol you can use for file data transfer in Microsoft Office and SharePoint. FSSHTTP enables one or more protocol clients to synchronize changes performed on shared files stored on a SharePoint server. FSSHTTP allows coauthoring and is supported with Microsoft Office 2010 and 2013, and SharePoint 2010 and 2013.
  • Currently, RiOS does not offer any latency optimization for FSSHTTP. Clients can continue to benefit from HTTP optimization, TCP streamlining, and data reduction.
  • OneDrive for Business - OneDrive for Business is a personal library intended for storing and organizing work documents. As an integral part of Office 365 or SharePoint 2013, OneDrive for Business enables end users to work within the context of your organization, with features such as direct access to your company address book. OneDrive for Business is usually paired with Sync OneDrive for Business (sync client). This synchronization application enables you to synchronize OneDrive for Business library or other SharePoint site libraries to a local computer. OneDrive for Business is available with Office 2013 or with Office 365 subscriptions that include Microsoft Office 2013 applications.
  • RiOS v8.6 and later supports optimization of traffic between OneDrive for Business and Sync OneDrive for Business. Office 365 OneDrive for Business requires a SteelHead SaaS. SteelHead SaaS runs in the Akamai SRIP network, and it optimizes both SharePoint and Exchange.
    The following table shows a summary of SharePoint application visibility reporting.
     
    SharePoint Version
    HTTP
    FPSE
    WebDAV
    SharePoint 2007
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    SharePoint 2010
    Yes
    Yes
    Yes
    SharePoint 2013
    Yes
    No
    No
    For information about how to configure SharePoint optimization and more information about the SharePoint optimization options, see the SteelHead Management Console User’s Guide and the Riverbed Command-Line Interface Reference Manual. For information about AFE, see the SteelHead Deployment Guide and the SteelHead Management Console User’s Guide.